Martinsburg daily gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1887-1887, 1887-07-12
POTENCY Oh FAITH
SOME NOTABLE EXAMPLES WHICH
ILLUSTRATE IT'S POWER.

4 W St
Faish KIN opite = Potent = faith
CHre-Erec.s % Prqstieal Joke.
Sentenced 20 Dshth-uen. Johnston's
stosy-A Terrified Porter.
So.ae time ago girl, about 10 years Of
age, had . prescription made up at
chemists. The prescription was . double
one part being for internal use, and part
for external application only. The usual
red Poison" label was affixed to the
bottle containing the lotion. and verbal
caution was also given. The girl having
been under medical treatment for some
time previous, was permitted to take and
apply the medicine herself; and so careful
was she that her precautions to avoid mis-
takes were the subject Of frequent COM
ment and occasional banter. aOne day
male cousin, having unfortunately re-
solved to play her practical joke, trans
posed the labels on the bottles (which In
other respects were not very. much unlike
---soon after the girl had taken her frst
dose. IN rsFs
In an apparently careless way her at
teution was directed to the bottles, and,
to her horror, she discovered that she
must have drunk some Of the lotion.
Within half an hour she had frightened
herself into the belief that she was
poisoned. She complained Of burning
sensation in the throat and stomach, of
collie, and other symptoms of poisoning.
A little later she was seized with an over
towering tendency to sleep. The doctor
was summoned in haste. He heard tho
girls story, and applied such remedies as
he thought proper. But the girl grew
worse She was sinking SO rapidly that
at last the frightened and hitherto silent
culprit confessed what he had DONE At
first the girl did not believe him; and it
was not until the doctor had taken large
dose from the red labeled bottle that che
was convinced. Then she began to re-
cover, and in q few hours the immediate
effects Of the practical joke had left her. J.
THOUGHT SIZE WAS PARALYzED.
"A well authenticated case is told of d
young lady who for seven years or moro
has been under tho impression that she
is paralyzed. She looks strong and
healthy, but lies all day on couch, s.ld
has to he Acarried about in an invalid
chair. She shrieks with pain whenever a
limb is moved. Her parents have taken
her to ct least q dozen physicians sonle
OF the most eminent men In London-and
all agree that she is III perfect health.
One Of them plainly told her, after most
exhaustive examination, chat she was
simply wasting her parents' money, and
added that he would gladly give e100 in
exchange for such constitution as hers.
Some years ago Napoleon III, while
emperor Of France, permitted d French
physician to experiment. on convict who
was sentenced to death. The condemned
man was delivered to the physician, who
had him strapped to table ana blind
folded, ostensibly for the purpose of being
bled to death. Near the dropping head
was placed d vessel Of water, which, by
means Of q siphon arrangement, strickled
audibly into basin below, at the sar1e
moment that a superficial scratch with q
a needle was made right across the scnl-
prit's neck. Perfect Silence was main
tanned, and in six minutes the man was
dead.
KILLED BY JOKE.
Gen. Johnston, leader OF the Confed-
crate armies, tells of case that came
under his own observation He, when 4
lieutenant, learned that some acquaint-
ances had concocted plan for testing the
power of Imagination on the human sys-
tenn. The plan was that half dozen OF
them should, apparently by accident, meet
some particular individual and comment
on his appearance of extreme illness. "A
. healthy young man was selected for eS-s
pertinent, and the result of this joke was
that he sickened and died.
Another case Is said to have occurred in
university town in Scotland. A college
porter having made himself particularly
obnoxious to the students, they resolved
TO be fevenged upon him For this pur-
pose they decoyed- him into a room one
behavior, and, with q great outward show
az solelnnitv senteilced him to Be decaD-